


Communication Errors

by MedicalAssisstanceSpareChange (orphan_account)



Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Making Out, Miscommunication, Prom, switching dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 05:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20237593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/MedicalAssisstanceSpareChange
Summary: When Mini offers to take Brock to prom, Brian and Tyler both react rather badly, and the resulting tension lasts all the way to prom itself.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CrimsonBlueMoon (Navybluewings)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Navybluewings/gifts), [mssjynx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mssjynx/gifts).

> So in a group chat I'm in with mssjynx and CrimsonBlueMoon, who I'm dedicating this fic to because they've waited a LONG time for it, we have this thing where if we say b*tch or similar words ten times we have to write a drabble/draw something. It took me three months to finally rack up ten tallies, to their extreme annoyance, and I was given a "terrormoo and minicat double date but they're with the wrong person" prompt for my drabble.
> 
> Clearly, this is not a drabble. It got more than a bit out of hand.
> 
> If you'd like to read this work on a single massive page, you can check it out over on tumblr on @firstaidquarters. If you want to chat with me about it or anything else on tumblr, you can find me at @personfullofplotholes. Special thanks to grace for reading along, editing, and encouraging me to finish the damn thing; love you <3!!!
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy this, folks!

Students flooded into classrooms; the last clangs of the bells faded into silence, the school halls filled with nothing but sunshine and the occasional straggling student who’d forgotten something in their locker. Out in the courtyard, a lone boy sat enjoying the sun, a textbook propped open in front of him and eyes locked onto the page.

Craig grinned as he caught sight of the boy, steps speeding up to join his friend. He wasn’t sure which god exactly he had to thank for somehow getting a free period as a junior, let alone the same one as one of his best friends, but he’d take the blessing gladly.

“Sup, Brock!” His voice rang cheerily through the space, catching the senior’s attention with a jolt. Mini plunked his backpack on the ground as he slid onto the bench, fully prepared to launch into a retelling of that thing in the music room he’d overheard but promised Luke he wouldn’t talk about, but a quick glance at Brock’s face killed his plans cold.

“Are you okay?” he blurted out instead. He could feel his eyes go wide at the sight of the dark circles beneath Brock’s nervous blues, at the unfamiliar look of the upset frown on his face. Stress wasn’t a stranger to Brock, but he looked _miserable_, not worried. And he’d played GTA with the rest of their friends the night before, so unless he’d done badly on a pop quiz, Mini was pretty sure whatever was on his mind wasn’t academic. And that was a worse sign, because while Brock was affectionately dubbed the Mom of their friend group, he had a surprising talent for handling social and personal blunders with nothing short of pure awkwardness.

Meaning he’d need help, and someone to talk to, and that was something Mini could do. Conclusion reached in just a second or so, he barreled on before Brock could answer. “I mean, I can tell you’re not, but, like- is there something you need, bro? Like, are you sick, or-”

“I’m fine.” Brock sounded anything but; his voice reflected the misery on his face tenfold. “Nothing out of the ordinary, just the freaking usual.”

“Which is?”

“Mom and Dad can’t afford my prom ticket anymore.”

“Oh. _Oh_.” 

Just as quickly as he’d reached his previous conclusion, Craig understood. Prom was supposed to be Brock’s day off, his reward of sorts for pushing himself above and beyond the obstacles he’d faced over the past four years. He’d even gotten a job, despite his parents’ protests that they would provide, to save up money for his own suit. His parents had insisted on paying for the ticket, though. So a few weeks ago, the whole group had cheered when Brock finally splurged on himself a bit with the extra money to buy a nice set of headphones. He’d even managed to not guilt himself over it, letting Brian place them proudly on his head as the two of them posed for a selfie.

“Yeah.” Brock cut off the memories with a heavy sigh, and Mini blinked back to reality to see him glumly propping his chin in his hands. “It was Dad this time, had to go to the hospital and didn’t trust Mom to drive him, so they had a fight and then it ended up being nothing major but they still got billed and it’s a lot.” His arms folded, gravity pulling his limbs and head down to rest on the table, facing the floor to hide his misery. “And now, after saving up for six months, I can’t go to freaking prom.”

Shoulders slumped; his friend was still in his seat, too emotionally exhausted to engage with the world. _Hopeless_ was the uncomfortable word that sprang to Mini’s mind, and before he quite knew what he was doing he was speaking again.

“What if we went together? Like, as dates, but as friends obviously. Didn’t they have to mush together the junior and senior proms, and that’s why the tickets are so expensive now?” Mini let himself ramble, tapping at the tabletop as he went. “And tickets are cheaper if you’re bringing a date, so it’s really not that bad for me to get you one as well.”

“Mini-”

“I’m serious!” Cutting off the protest before it could even be voiced, Mini let his hazel-gray eyes show that he meant what he said. “I’ll buy your ticket, you can still buy your suit, and we can go stag together even though the tickets will say we’re dates. And that way you don’t have to miss out on the one social event you’ve been looking forward to for years.”

“You’re not bringing someone already?” Moo asked, confusion and hope and the last tinges of despair in his voice. “I thought you’d already asked someone.”

“No, that was Nogla. I’m, uh, well. Still single.” _And hoping that certain someone gets off their ass soon_. “Like, I was hoping maybe, but I’d rather go with a friend I know well than some random person I ask last minute and just stand around awkwardly with, y’know?” He gave a half-hearted grin, trying desperately to move his mind away from the person he knew was never going to ask him to go to prom. 

Said grin grew wider when Brock gave his own small smile back and quipped, “Well, I’m not so sure I can help on the whole standing around awkwardly thing; that’s kind of all I can do.”

“I’m sure we can find each other someone to dance with who actually knows what they’re doing. Wingman for each other or something.” Mini totally didn’t have ulterior motives with that statement, but they were pushed aside for the time being, allowing himself to just feel good about being able to help his friend. “D’you think matching suits would give the wrong message, or make us, like, look even cooler somehow?”

“Let’s start with whether or not your parents will buy my ticket,” Brock said with a laugh, and his face grew lighter from relief as he reached over to give Mini a thankful hug before returning to his textbook and letting Mini chatter at him about prom and suits and gossip.

Brian smiled up at his ceiling as he waited for Brock to get back to him. Sprawled out over his bed, he couldn’t see the mess that was his room- cords an irreparable tangle under the desk, mounds of clothes that he somehow managed to keep organized by his own convoluted system, homework spilling upwards out of his backpack to cover his desk and the textbooks that supposedly held the solutions to the problems above.

But it was his ceiling that held his attention. The paint was more or less hidden by dozens of posters and pictures, taped up to the wood with a surprisingly sophisticated sense of arrangement. A massive Terminator movie poster held the place of honor, surrounded by pictures of him with his friends and his old town in Ireland.

As always, his eyes drifted off to the side, where his favorite picture- him standing next to his best friend, proudly showing off the headphones the shy senior had just bought- was taped at the edge of the collage. It had been a good day, a particularly good moment, then; he’d had one hand on Brock’s head pointing out the headphones, and Moo had been leaning against him as he laughed, his face free of stress for once. 

It hadn’t been the first time Brian was tempted to kiss him, but it was the closest he’d come yet.

His phone buzzed, startling him out of his fond reverie. Brock was at the door- why the fuck had he come over when all Brian needed was some help with chemistry? He ran a hand through his hair and ran out into the hall, unable to help the grin that nudged onto his face as he neared the front door.

“Ye didn’t have to come over, Brocky,” he playfully protested in greeting, laughing at the eye roll Brock gave him in response.

“You never understand things when I explain them in texts, so yes, actually. I did.” Without pausing, Brock pushed past him into the house, beelining for Brian’s room and shucking his backpack on the floor. “I refuse to do all your problems for you; you’ll never pass your tests that way, and I’m determined that you’ll graduate this year.”

“Fine.” Brian laughed; he couldn’t help it, couldn’t help how happy he was around Brock in general. Came with the crush, he supposed. “Please, oh mighty tutor and best friend of mine, explain what the fock the difference between solutes and solutions are and how they work.”

Time passed slowly after that; Brian’s mother came home and popped in to say hi, delighted as always to see her son socializing. She’d tried her hardest to not take her son from Ireland, but in the end it simply hadn’t worked out and Brian found himself effectively alone in a new school and a new country. 

Thankfully, he’d had Brock in his homeroom, and the two had become fast, close friends. Even Evan, who’d been Moo’s closest friend before Brian, joked that the two were attached at the hip. Life just seemed easier around the kind kid, and from how often Brock sought out Brian’s company, especially given what Brian knew of his home life, the feeling was mutual. It hadn’t taken long at all for Brian to develop his current crush, although he wasn’t sure how he’d managed to keep it hidden for so long. Only Nogla, another Irish transfer (although he’d come over two years prior), seemed to have any inkling of Brian’s real feelings towards Brock.

But tonight, sitting next to Brock on the bed and going over the difference between iodide and iodine, the memory of the headphone selfie just above their heads… maybe it was time to change that.

“I still don’t get how you keep all this stuff straight in yer head.” Brian leaned back on his hands with a groan, kicking one of the finished worksheets off his lap. 

“Well-”

“Don’t make a focking gay joke, I swear to god.” Brian narrowed his eyes at his friend, recognizing the tone that accompanied the terrible puns his friend was notorious for. “You’re never gonna get a prom date that way.” It wasn’t the most subtle segue, a less-than-perfect leadup to Brian asking him to be his date, but-

“That’s where you’re wrong, actually! Sort of.” Brock grinned at him, unaware of how Brian’s heart had just stopped in his chest. “Mini and I are going together, actually. He offered during break period yesterday, when I told him my parents couldn’t afford it anymore.”

“What?” It was the only word he could muster, feeling like something unexpectedly fragile was cracking around him. “You an’- you and _Mini?_”

“I mean, we’re just going as friends, but he has to put me as his date to buy the tickets, so technically, yeah.” Brock paused, his grin fading into a puzzled frown as he took in whatever white-faced expression Brian was wearing. He wasn’t even sure what he looked like in that moment, teetering on the edge of heartbreak- _oh_. That fragile thing was his heart. “Are… is something wrong?”

“N-nah.” It took a moment for him to form the word, his throat lumpy. “I’m just, uh, surprised. I didn’t know you…” Well, he _had _just said they were only friends. “I didn’t know your parents couldn’t buy th’ ticket.”

“Yeah, it was a sudden thing.” Brock wrinkled his nose, the closest he ever came to a scowl. “More hospital stuff, more fights, more of the usual.”

“Ye could’ve asked me, y’know.” The shock was leaving Brian’s system, slowly being replaced by a bewildered anger that spread the cracks further. “I’d’ve paid up in a heartbeat.”

“Just… didn’t want to impose, I guess, but-”

“Fuck, Brock, ye wouldn’t have been imposin’ on anythin’!” Brian sat up straight as his voice raised, not quite able to rein himself in as he tried to salvage his heart and the situation. “I- I would’ve paid because I want to go with ye, I mean. I would _love_ to go to prom with you, I was- I was gonna to ask you to be my date, for fock’s sake!”

His declaration rang out into silence, the only response a nearly comical widening of Brock’s eyes. 

“You-”

“Yeah.” Brian dropped his head, not knowing entirely why, but he was fairly certain that he couldn’t take much more of the shock on Brock’s face.

“I…” Brock drifted into silence again, fingers curled nervously over the edge of the book in his lap. “I don’t know what… what to say.” He looked over at Brian again, looking almost frustrated and more than a bit scared. “I didn’t know-”

“It’s okay. No one did.” Brian felt his heart break a little more, shards falling out and leaving gaps, when he smiled up at Brock, knowing he was failing to make it the slightest bit convincing. “I was… waiting, I guess. When I saw how excited you were for prom I figured I’d get the balls to ask ye or never do anything.” When Brock stayed silent, just looking at him with that expression overflowing with a hundred different emotions, Brian continued. “But if you’re going with Mini already then that’s fine. I’ll be okay.”

“I’m sorry,” Brock finally whispered. “I- I didn’t know, I wouldn’t have-”

“Just… don’t.” Brian knew he was being childish, not wanting to hear Brock say he would have done things differently if he’d just asked him earlier. “It’s okay, Brock, really. I’m fine.”

“I-I’ll go, then.” Brock stood suddenly, jerking up like a puppet whose strings had been pulled too quickly. “You- I’ll, uh, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Their usual goodbyes lasted so much longer, had so much more teasing, more hugs. Didn’t have Brian sitting on the bed pretending his heart wasn’t broken, didn’t have Brock looking anguished as he quickly scooped everything back into his backpack and all but ran for the bedroom door. There, though, he paused, looking like he was wrestling with himself. His mouth opened, but no words came out, and as he stared at nothing and frowned, Brian felt the tiny shimmer of hope in him again.

But then Brock shut down again, muttering nothing but a quick “let me know how chemistry goes tomorrow” before walking down the hallway and out of Brian’s sight, leaving him with nothing but the glossy memories of happier times above his head and an emptiness where his heart had broken in his chest.

“TYLER!”

“What the fuck!” Mini let out a cackle at Tyler’s startled response, rocking in his chair gleefully. “Craig, when the fuck did you jump in here, jesus!”

“Just now.” Mini scooted back towards his computer, grinning at the call screen. “I knew you’d be sitting in here in case someone hopped on, so I figured I’d make all your dreams come true.”

“I’d rather my nightmares became reality than ever suffer your stupid fucking screech again.” Tyler’s words had no real bite to them. “Get on GTA, pussy. I found a new glitch at the nightclub and I wanna see your dumb ass fail at making it work.”

“Sounds great. I can tell you about all the stuff you missed out on during lunch while you were at your basketball meet.”

“Oh, god, more drama.” Tyler groaned as Mini loaded into the lobby, and Mini could all too perfectly imagine him running his hand over his face. He could also imagine the grin on Tyler’s face as he cackled and threw C4 at Mini’s character in the game to spawnkill him, and most of all, he could imagine the fond glare Tyler was giving his player model as he ranted at him for being a dick.

The two settled into their familiar banter quickly, practically on autopilot as they pranked their way to the nightclub. Mini had never spent much time in that particular GTA venue; he preferred the more open places where he could explore, like seeing how fast he could fall down Mount Chiliad. But Tyler made it fun, yelling at the bartender for another drink as if he was actually there and of legal drinking age, not a high school senior who worked out his stress by being an absolute menace in basketball and football.

It was a while later, glitch completely forgotten as Mini rambled and teased Tyler for being out of the loop, that everything crashed and burned.

“Look at her fucking outfit!” Tyler crowed, turning his character to face a NPC in the middle of the dance floor. “What the fuck is she wearing, dude? It looks like something you’d wear to a rodeo, not a fucking nightclub.”

“She looks absolutely ridiculous,” Mini agreed with a laugh, running up to her. The cheetah-print shirt and denim jacket was definitely a bold combination that didn’t work. “She looks like Brock’s player model, like they’re married or something. Matching outfits for a date, maybe.”

“Holy shit, you’re right- oh my god, can you imagine if Brock showed up to prom dressed like his character?” Tyler’s question was ridiculous, but only to a point; the guys had all spent enough time at Brock’s house to know he actually had some truly ridiculous shirts, and had all been friends with him long enough to know that his fashion sense was genuinely awful. 

“He better not; I refuse to walk through those doors looking like I’m bringing a homeless kid to prom.”

“_What_?”

Mini was best friends with Tyler. He didn’t need a long train of thought or any reasoning to know when he’d said something wrong. Unfortunately, as he knew from past experience, that didn’t necessarily mean he dealt with it in the best way.

“You’re going with Moo to prom?” Tyler’s voice was pure disbelief through his mic, and louder than usual, as if he’d leaned closer to his computer. Which was entirely possible; Mini had been in his room enough, had been friends with him long enough, to know that when he was invested in something he leaned closer to it. “Why?”

“I mean, he couldn’t go, and I figured I could go with a friend, and honestly out of all you lot I figure he’s the best bet to go with. He’s chill, unlike you fuckers.” Nervous and joking wasn’t really the attitude he needed to go for, but it was his default. “And-”

“So _you _asked him?” Tyler said, again, louder still.

“Yes, _I_ asked him! He was super upset about missing prom, and I hate seeing him upset, he’s such a sweet guy, y’know? Figured I’d do him a favor.”

“Yeah. Great guy you are, doing him a _favor_.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Mini finally snapped, letting go of the comedian facade to show his irritation. “You’re acting like it’s your fucking problem that I’m taking a friend to prom; what’s your deal?”

“It IS my problem, because we agreed three years ago we were gonna go together!” Tyler yelled back.

It had been the day of the big eighth grade dance, before Tyler and Mini had met anyone in the group besides Anthony and Delirious. Tyler’s girlfriend dumped him for a more popular date, and Mini had gotten laughed at when he asked a cute girl in English to go with him. Unable to show up dateless for fear of ruining what little social standing they had, they’d ended up hanging out at Mini’s house, playing video games and feeling miserable. And then they’d come up with the deal: If, during their junior and senior years, neither of them had a date to take to prom, they’d go with each other to guarantee they wouldn’t be left out.

“What about that?” Mini protested, smacking his desk. “I can’t just let Brock down, that’s-”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t wanna let your _friend_ down, would you?” Tyler’s voice sounded suspiciously close to tears, and he slammed something once before cursing and leaving the call. A few seconds later, he left the lobby, a little notification popping up in the bottom left corner.

Mini felt his heart sink as the words faded, uncertain of just what had happened, but solid in the knowledge that it was probably his fault.

Also, that Tyler wasn’t going to be talking to him for a while.

He wasn’t sure which thought hurt more.

Brock regarded the school entrance with something approaching dread, which was unusual.

He _liked_ school; loved it, in fact, even with his parents hounding him to constantly do better. He liked it because it was a place away from his parents and their squabbling and the stress that they tried but continually failed to keep off of him; he liked being able to see his friends, all in one place. He’d signed up for clubs just so he could stay on campus longer, on the days when he knew his friends wouldn’t be able to have him over for a bit.

But today, the lockers loomed threateningly on the walls and each hall looked like a tunnel to doom. He knew where he had to go; Mini’s locker was towards the other end of the school, tucked along the languages building.

It didn’t matter that Mini was one of his best friends since ninth grade. Or that they weren’t really going to prom as dates, no matter what the tickets said. He was still swallowing nervously as he wove through the crowd, hands shaking and sweating as he ran over his game plan in his head.

Step one: tell Mini that Brian wanted to ask him to prom. Step two, ask Mini if it was okay to go with Brian instead, because- step three- he sort of had a crush on Brian, please don’t tell anyone about it, you’re the absolute best, I’ll help you with your English homework tonight yeah? Sounds good okay gotta go bye. 

(Step four: go hyperventilate in some hidden corner until he was calm again, and then go find Brian and ask if he still wanted to go to prom.)

It was a pretty solid plan, if he was being honest (and he was rarely anything but.) He’d spent the better part of the night laying awake and wondering what to do about Brian, and his feelings, and his bungled apology-slash-getaway. Then he’d spent the morning, from when he woke up two hours ago to this very moment, figuring out exactly how to approach this.

Mini was standing next to his locker, face intent as he transferred books between the little cubby and his backpack. Brock took a deep breath and wiped his hands on his jeans before stepping up to him.

“Oh, hey!” Mini smiled briefly at Brock as he walked up. “You don’t usually come over to this side of school. What’s up?”

“Hey.” Brock took another deep breath, trying to stay steady as his heart hammered his ribs forwards. “Um, can I talk to you really quick? It’s just about prom-”

“Ugh, _prom_. I’m so glad I’m going with you.” Mini slammed his locker shut, turning to face Brock with a dramatic groan. “I don’t even know why, but Tyler? Absolute dick to me last night, when I told him we were going together. Like, he thought he had more of a right to go with me than you, when I’ve already bought your ticket!” 

Brock’s steadying breathing suddenly wasn’t working so well anymore. Mini wasn’t done, though. “And I went to say hi to him this morning, but he won’t even talk to me, you know? Normally when he’s mad he’ll flip me off, or tell me to go fuck myself or something equally charming, but he was just silent. Which is so stupid! How am I supposed to explain to him why I’m going to prom with you if he won’t hold a fucking conversation?” He let out his own deep sigh, one that sounded like a mockery of the ones Brock had breathed earlier. “So now I’m not just happy we’re going to prom together cuz otherwise you couldn’t go; now I get to spite him, too. He won’t talk to me, so I’ll just keep doing my thing, y’know?” The bravado-filled smile he flashed Moo as he finished ranting signalled the last scraps of his plan falling apart around him.

“Oh dear.” It was an automatic response, one that made him seem like he was far more involved in the conversation than he actually was. His brain was a whirling mess; he couldn’t just tell Mini now that he didn’t want to go with him, if Tyler was angry with him. That’d be abandoning Craig to his pissed-off giant of a best friend, wouldn’t it? And Craig had said he’d already bought his ticket, so he couldn’t get a refund, probably. But then there was Brian, too, and Brock needed to talk with him but he wasn’t sure if he could approach him without the solid offering of prom in his pocket, but he couldn’t just tell Mini that either, or he’d feel bad and probably tell Brock to go with Brian anyways and then he’d be miserable by-

“What did you wanna talk about, by the way?” Mini broke off his thoughts, and Brock blinked; when had the two of them started walking down the hall? At least he was actually walking towards his first class.

“Uh-” He was planless. Mini’s rant had destroyed his careful construction, leaving him defenseless, and he scrambled for something to cover up the ruins. “Suits! I was gonna ask about suits, and when to get them, um. Yeah.”

“I was thinking next week, if that works? My brother’s gonna be out of town so we can use his car, go hit up some tux shops. Prom’s close enough that we need to get a move on if they’re gonna be ready on time.” He spoke animatedly, walking half-backwards to face Brock and yet not hitting anyone in the crowded halls as he did so. “Do you wanna go matching or nah? I’m down either way; I dunno about you, but I was thinking something kinda dark, y’know? Gray or navy-”

“I’ll talk to you later about it!” Brock didn’t mean to sound so desperate, but he couldn’t take the rambling from Mini that to him just sounded like _everything is wrong, wrong, wrong_. “I-I gotta go, I left something in my locker-”

And then he was turning down a hall, shoving unceremoniously through the crowd and into the nearest bathroom. The signs inside told him he was in the arts building, nowhere near his first period of AP physics. But he couldn’t bring himself to care, rushing towards an empty stall and locking it with shaking fingers, breathing heavily.

(Step four, it seemed, was still in place.)

It wasn’t all bad, right? He was still going to prom, just not with the guy he wanted to go with. Because that was what was really upsetting him, that he _wanted _to go with Brian, had been happy imagining them going to the venue and maybe, if Brock could work up the confidence, even dancing together. But he was still going, and Mini was a nice friend but Brock didn’t really want to be used in whatever his latest argument with Tyler was, and he wasn’t sure he could talk to Brian at all now, and, and-

The bell rang, shrieking through the air and echoing off the tiles. He was late, he knew, as the ambient noise through the bathroom door faded into silence.

Quietly, he collected his backpack, put all thoughts of the upcoming awkwardness with Brian and Craig and Tyler out of his mind, and walked to his physics class.

Lunch, needless to say, was an unmitigated disaster.

Tyler nearly didn’t go sit with the guys when he emerged from the cafeteria. The sight of Craig’s silver-blond dye job flipped his stomach with anxiety and anger, and seeing Brock next to him, hunched over his tray, only made the anger stronger. 

Which, if he was being real, made him feel bad; Brock hadn’t done anything but get stuck with parents who couldn’t keep their promises. It had been Mini who’d bought Brock’s ticket, who talked about how _nice _he was, how he couldn’t let him down. But Tyler had a way of being selfishly irrational, as he’d be the first to admit, and what he’d really gotten from their disastrous conversation last night was that Mini felt better letting Tyler down than Brock, that he’d rather go to prom with Brock than Tyler, that he cared more about Brock’s emotions than Tyler’s. Basically, that he liked Brock better as a person than Tyler, his own best friend.

Fucker.

“Yo!” Marcel’s voice called out to him from across the cafeteria. “You gonna sit down or not? Pizza’s no better cold, dawg!”

“Shut up,” Tyler snapped back, moving out of the kitchen exit. His scowl grew deeper with every step he took closer; he was mad at Brock for being good, pissed at Craig for being… well, himself, upset with himself for not being able to take a simple rejection like a fucking adult. The cold glance Craig tossed his way when he plunked down in the farthest seat proved he was angry too, but just like that morning, Tyler wasn’t about to talk to him about it.

Scanning the table, nothing else seemed out of place, which only made him feel worse. Evan was reaching across the table to poke at Delirious, Luke was flirting incessantly with Ryan down by Mini and Brock, and Panda was daring Nogla to see who could eat more shitty pizza in five minutes. The only person who didn’t look normal was Brian, whose head hung down over the pizza he was listlessly pushing at with a fork.

Well, whatever his problem was, Tyler wasn’t about to ask. He wasn’t in the mood for a heart-to-heart, nor was he good at them. Probably the prom thing, which he _really_ didn’t want to deal with.

But Craig, it seemed, couldn’t let sleeping beasts lie. For the first time since Tyler had sat down, he broke his chilly silence to speak. “Hey, Brian, you doin’ okay?” Tyler watched from the corner of his eye as Mini pushed his tray forwards to lean his elbows on the table, getting closer to the boy across the table. He always did that; if something interested him, he leaned towards it, like it was pulling him. Actually, if Tyler remembered correctly, Craig had picked up that habit from him.

“‘M fine,” Brian mumbled, stabbing a little more energetically at his pizza. On his right, Nogla, looked at him with a confused gaze. Tyler didn’t know what he knew, but he was sure he’d learn soon enough, as the dumber Irish kid couldn’t keep his mouth shut if his life depended on it. “Nothin’ t’ worry about.”

“You sure?” _Fuck_, Mini was genuinely concerned, judging by his tone. Another person that wasn’t Tyler who’d warranted his care. “Not to be mean, but-”

“Mini, um-” Brock broke in, reaching up to pull Craig back by his arm, and at the confused, concerned frown the Brit gave Brock, Tyler felt his anger drown out his nerves. He didn’t even bother trying to fight it; he knew from experience that he could either bottle it up until he went to work out, or he could let it out now. And honestly, he was feeling petty.

“Just leave him alone.” He locked eyes with Craig as he spoke, and just out of his focus, Brian raised his head in surprise. Tyler rarely, if ever, defended him. 

For such warm gray eyes, Craig had a surprising talent for making them look like they were made of pure ice, and he was putting that on full force now. “Why? Am I not allowed to check in with a friend, make sure I know what’s wrong so I can see if there’s any way to fix it?”

“Oh, shit,” Panda said in the background, alerting the rest of their friends to the brewing fight.

“If you really don’t get what’s wrong, then you’re an idiot.” Tyler snorted hollowly, rolled his eyes; calculated moves to piss off Mini even more. “No one’s gonna be able to help with that.”

“Guys,” Brock said, voice rising with what was probably anxiety. “Please don’t-”

“Oh, _shut up_, Brock.” Tyler didn’t hold back the vitriol, letting it spill out of him and into his words. He’d be exhausted later, but better that than furious. “This isn’t about you, so just keep your mouth closed so you don’t fuck something up.”

“Are you serious-”

“What the fuck?”

Craig and Brian spoke at the same time, rising as Brock shrank into his seat with wide eyes. Tyler glared at them both without fear; he couldn’t find them intimidating if he tried. “Leave Brock out of this, you asshole! He’s got nothing to do with your being an emotionally repressed dipshit!” Craig swept his arm out as he spoke, making Scotty duck next to him to avoid being hit.

“Fuck this.” Luke stepped away from the table, dragging Delirious and Ohm with him.

“You sure about that, _Mini_?” More ways to push him to the edge. Tyler never dealt with his hurt in the best ways.

“I don’t know what the shit is going on between you two, but leave Brock out of it!” Brian’s voice was high, a sure sign he was angry. “You’ve got no right to be snapping at him like that, Tyler, I don’t care who pissed in your cereal this morning.”

“You can shut up too, Brian, for all I care.” Tyler wasn’t stupid; he knew Brian had a crush the size of Jupiter for Brock, and it didn’t take a genius to put together that he was probably upset by the whole prom thing too. “Go be a prissy bitch somewhere else, and let the adults talk.”

“You-”

Brian’s fuming was cut off by Craig leaning forwards, eyes gone from icy to burning. “This isn’t being a fucking adult, Tyler!” His words rang loud enough to physically hurt, and definitely attracted the whole cafeteria’s attention; Tyler would have to avoid snapchat today if he wanted to get over this. “You’ve got a problem but you won’t tell me what, you’re being an absolute scumbag to Brock for no reason, and now Brian too?” Panda shook his head and pushed his chair back to leave; Evan had disappeared at some point too, and the only one actively watching was Nogla. “I wasn’t aware you were capable of being such a dick, but I guess it’s never too late to learn someone’s true colors.”

Tyler would have laughed at that if it weren’t true. He was an asshole, he was mean, he was selfish, he couldn’t communicate well, and it was why he’d gotten a crush on Craig. He’d stuck around even through all that; how could Tyler not have?

“Good.” Tyler suddenly couldn’t bear to be in the cafeteria anymore. He wanted it to be gym already, so he could hide in a corner of the weights room and lift until his arms were as dead as he felt inside. He left his tray on the table. “Maybe it’s about time you opened your fucking eyes, since your ears seem to be broken.” He turned away as Craig’s eyes widened in confusion beneath the anger, but only got a few steps away before another voice caught his attention.

“Hey!” Brian was somehow even louder than Craig had been. “Apologize to Brock, you fucking prick!” 

He’d been so close to getting the fuck away. Tyler growled to himself in frustration, quietly enough for no one else to hear, and turned around. Deliberately ignoring Mini’s glare, he directed his gaze down, to the halfway-terrified boy sitting practically under Craig with the way the younger boy was leaning on the table.

His anger had faded, and really, Brock didn’t deserve this. Tyler felt numb now, but he knew he’d feel shitty later. Brock watched him sigh, perfectly frozen as silence settled through the cafeteria, full of anticipation to see what the school’s biggest asshole would do.

“Sorry, Moo,” he said, just loud enough to reach its target. Then he turned away again, grabbing his backpack from its spot by the door, and shoved out of the cafeteria to go be alone.

Brian spent his day angry and miserable, slouching in his seat in every class in an effort to avoid having to participate. His teachers mostly seemed to notice, leaving him to stare out the window and stew in his angry thoughts, but his last obligation of the day didn’t give him that luxury.

Basketball really wasn’t Brian’s thing, but he’d been eager to play a sport and good enough with his throws to qualify, despite knowing nearly nothing of the game. He’d done well enough, though; and practice was nice, a little extra workout and team-building that he genuinely enjoyed participating in. Even on bad days, it helped him get in a better mood, lifting his spirits before he had to go back home and do schoolwork.

Then again, today was a special brand of bad day, and it didn’t help that Tyler was on the basketball team too.

“That’s enough!” Brian winced at the coach’s voice, staring down at the waxed floor. “Wine, Hanby, I don’t know what the hell is up with you two today, but if you keep playing like this I’m benching you for all of next game! Go take five laps around the gym; see if that helps you any.”

Brian followed in Tyler’s wake, ignoring the way the taller kid slammed the doors open so hard they rebounded off the wall. Tyler didn’t wait for Brian before taking off, letting his longer legs put more than a fair bit of distance between them.

“Hey!” Brian only caught up because of his football- his _proper_ football, not this tackling bullshit they liked here- training, and once he was in the near-sprint, it was pretty easy to maintain speed. At least that was easy; what on earth was he thinking, trying to start a conversation with an angry Tyler Wine? He let his mouth join his feet in running ahead of his brain. “I dunno what was up with ye in the cafeteria today, but thanks for apologizin’ to Brock.”

Blue eyes peered down at him in confusion for a split second before moving to look forwards. “Sure.”

“An’ I’m sorry for yellin’ at ye, when you’re clearly upset about-”

“Just shut up and run.”

The gym was massive, attached to two other wings to make a behemoth of a building nearly a quarter of the full campus size. By the time they were halfway through the second lap, they’d slowed down a fair bit. Brian’s thoughts were still zipping along, though, and while he was never sure exactly what it was that drove him to speak up again, he couldn’t exactly say he regretted it.

“Weird question, but- d’you know what to do when someone… when they don’t like you back?”

Tyler slowed suddenly, stopping within seconds, and Brian nearly tripped and fell trying to stay with him. “What the fuck are you asking me that for?” His eyes were narrowed, expression guarded as he looked at Brian like an enemy.

Brian just shrugged easily, lacing his hands behind his head to breathe easier. “Need to talk, I guess. ‘M not good at keepin’ shit to myself.”

“What happened?” Tyler asked after a long moment, which… surprised Brian, really. He’d been expecting an outright rejection of the offer to talk, or a snide comment about how stupid he was for picking Tyler to talk to. Something more in keeping with the asshole side of his personality. But the unexpected change was welcome, and really, Brian couldn’t help but leap at the opportunity to talk to _someone_ about Brock.

“I… told my crush yesterday that I liked him. Said I wanted t’ take him to prom-”

“Except Brock’s going with Craig already, so that went down like a lead balloon.” Tyler leaned against the wall, casual as could be.

Brian gaped at Tyler. “You- how did you-”

“You’re not exactly subtle, dude. I just don’t say anything about that stuff, since it’s not my place.” He waved his hand, motioning Brian to continue. “So he said he couldn’t go to prom?”

“Yeah- fock, I thought only- damn. No, he got all stuttery and apologized and left as quickly as possible.” Brian was glum all over again remembering the disaster of a conversation. “More than anything, though, I really feel bad ‘cos I think I scared him. He didn’t come over to say hi this morning, even though I told him it was fine if he didn’t feel the same-”

“Not subtle _and_ an idiot?” Tyler snorted, and if Brian squinted there was genuine amusement in his eyes. “You really are hopeless.”

“What?” Brian felt the words _you’re an asshole_ on the tip of his tongue, but his curiosity held them back. If Tyler knew more than just what he’d revealed earlier, then Brian was very eager to learn whatever he could.

“Brock likes you too, dipshit. He’s just… him. Awkward as fuck and trips over every other word. It’s almost as obvious as your crush on him, though.”

“Pretty sure that’s Delirious you’re talkin’ bout.”

“All you motherfuckers look the same from up here.” This time, Tyler outright grinned. “Y’know, he and Craig aren’t going as actual dates. You should… I dunno, ask him to dance or something at prom, see how he reacts.”

“Really?” Brian matched Tyler’s grin, suddenly feeling the sparks of hope tug his heart up from where it had been dragging on the ground. “You think he’d like that?”

Rolling his eyes, Tyler only deemed his response with a “duh.” He pushed off the wall to get back to running, and as Brian moved to join him, he couldn’t stop his usually jabbering mouth from staying shut. “How did you even know I liked him? Like, you said I’m not subtle, but only Nogla knows, and he’s a dumbass. If this goes properly, I’ll get you a beer from me mum’s fridge an’ give it to ye on prom night. How’d you know he and Craig aren’t dates, anyway?”

This time, there was no slowing down as Tyler all but skidded to a halt. Brian barely caught himself as he stumbled, one hand flying out to a convenient nearby table for stability.

He’d barely gotten upright again when Tyler was moving again, that closed-off and upset look back on his face. Brian thoughtlessly snagged his arm as he moved past, holding tight so he couldn’t just rip free and move on again. “You okay?” Brian asked, even as Tyler turned to glare at him with an expression that would make most men flee. “I’m bad at keeping my shit to myself, man, but I ain’t about to go telling your secrets to people.”

Again, it was an offer he was expecting would get rejected. But rather than dislocate Brian’s shoulder, Tyler just stared for a long moment before scowling and practically deflating, leaving Brian holding his arm up awkwardly.

“Craig and I had a deal back in eighth grade where if we didn’t have dates to prom, we’d go with each other. And now he’s going with Brock.”

“And that’s a problem beca-? Oh. Wow.” Brian blinked at the unsaid implications. So Tyler liked Craig, then? Interesting. But still not enough to explain just how angry Tyler had been during lunch, Brian’s instincts told him. “So he broke your deal, and you’re upset about that?”

“He didn’t break it, he got a date,” Tyler said flatly, finally shaking his arm free of Brian’s grip. “Except I… you know. Wanted to go with him, and he was all ‘no, I have to go with Brock! I can’t let Moo down, he’s a precious bean!’ Or whatever the fuck it is he says.” He groaned then, rubbing his face with his hands and leaving his hair a mess. “I can’t exactly say anything now, so… yeah.”

He sounded hopeless, but Brian was frowning thoughtfully. “Hang on a second. Did you tell him you want to go with him?”

“Not in so many words, but yeah.” Tyler shot him a quizzical look, still guarded, and Brian groaned.

“Tyler. Your version of ‘not in so many words’ is most people’s ‘didn’t say jack shit.’ Word for word, what did you say to our dear dense British cunt of a Ladd?”

Shifting uncomfortably, Tyler finally mumbled, “Just… that we had made a deal to go together, and, uh… I said he let me down.” At Brian’s raised eyebrow, he amended his statement. “Insinuated, that is. That he let me down. Might have vaguely implied that I didn’t want to just be his friend, but, like… super vague, probably.”

His head ached, and with a muttered curse Brian ground a knuckle against his temple. “How are you so focking stupid?” he groaned, almost laughing in disbelief. “Seriously- okay. Here’s what we’re gonna do.”

“Oh no.”

“We’re gonna make a deal, right now. If you don’t talk to Craig an’ tell him ye like him, then I’m allowed to bail out of askin’ Brocky to dance, and the other way around. So we’re each other’s failsafe, yeah? Shit’s not gonna get resolved if we don’t both take care of this.” Brian waited for Tyler to roll his eyes and nod. “And lastly, we’re going as each other’s date.”

“_What?”_

Brian wasn’t Tyler’s best friend, but it was pretty easy to tell when he’d dumbfounded him. “It’s beneficial! That way it’s cheaper for both of us, and we ensure that t’other is there so it’s more likely shit gets done. Then we get our proper dates, if all goes well, everyone’s happy again, and our friends don’t want to murder us for starting the hottest drama again. It’s a good idea, you know it!” A winning smile and Brian was confident he’d won. “Tyler Wine, go to prom with me so we can get our lives together?”

He waited for only a moment. The crumbling of Tyler’s automatic unwillingness to go with Brian was practically visible, and after a quiet sigh he stuck out his hand. “Fine. Yes, I’ll go to fucking prom with you- but we’re not gonna fucking match, and that’s not up for negotiation.”

“Sounds-”

“BOYS!” A voice from behind Tyler roared through the air; Coach, wondering what was taking them so long to run. “I said run, not daydream about pretty girls! Five extra laps, and I expect you to not stop this time!”

“Sorry!” Their response rang out in tandem, both of them pushing off and back into their silent run. 

By the end of the five laps, Brian was still grinning, despite the burning protest in his legs and lungs. Despite coach’s orders, he had indeed spent the five laps daydreaming- not of pretty girls, but of the pretty look Brock would have when they danced at prom together, and the even prettier look he’d have after Brian finally got the guts to kiss him.


	2. Chapter 2

Craig didn’t know how to feel.

He’d heard it from John, who heard it from Toby, who had been gossiping with Fitz about the cafeteria incident and the following chew-out the basketball coach had given Tyler and Brian. How Brian had started talking to Tyler in the locker room about prom, asking if they wanted to go get dinner beforehand, if he should pick Tyler up or meet him at the venue, like…

Like they were dates. And why did that bother him? More, even, than Tyler blowing up at him and telling Brock to shut up. It was undeniable that they were going together, although Mini would eat his tie if it was actually romantic. But it still rankled him, made him toss and turn in his bed and stare at his blurry ceiling until he gave up on sleep entirely and grabbed his glasses and his phone.

He’d been intending to text Tyler, to make the first peace offering, just to sate his annoyed curiosity and finally fucking sleep. But there was a message from Brock at the top of his notifications, distracting him. 

**From: Moo** did you hear about brian and tyler?

Which was more intriguing than the thing he was talking about. When he could help it, Brock didn’t get involved in drama, didn’t seek it out, wouldn’t know a thing about it if it weren’t for Mini chattering at him during their shared break period. So if he was asking about it, that meant he had a special interest in the situation. Brian was his best friend, and he’d been off at lunch, but Brian had still defended him and Brock had been obviously concerned about him, even sat next to Craig, so it probably wasn’t something between them. They didn’t talk much about serious stuff in front of other people; Mini had tried to eavesdrop on them plenty of times, but they clammed up around other people.

So nothing off there. Had to be Tyler, then, that Brock was not-so-indirectly referring to (one of these days, Mini would have to teach him how to ask subtly after this sort of thing.) And why would Brock be so intrigued by the guy?

Quick as a flash, he remembered that morning, by his locker, the slight tells of panic Brock had shown while Mini ranted about Tyler being an ass. Brock didn’t like Tyler upset, then; again, par for the course when it came to the guy. But then, if it was a special sort of interest, and it had been about prom, too- well, what the fuck did it mean? 

It meant, he decided as he shoved away the looming conclusion with a sigh, that he was thinking too much.

**From: Mini Ladd **yeah its rly weird, after lunch no less

To his surprise, the reply came quick. Had the model student really stayed up to wait for Mini’s response? It certainly seemed like it.

**From: Moo **do you know anything about… why, i guess? i didnt think they were that close

“The fuck?” Mini mumbled into the brightness of his phone screen. Brock never asked for details, just got them regardless. And he still wasn’t clarifying who, specifically, he was talking about, but he’d have probably said outright if it was Brian so that meant it was Tyler and _why_ did that make the pit of his stomach knot up? Why did he care so much?

**From: Mini Ladd** just what i heard thru the grapevine, they were still upset at each other then came back from a run as prom dates

**From: Mini Ladd** no one saw or heard anything so its anyones guess but knowing tyler he did it just to spite us

**From: Moo** you really think he’d do that?

The truth was _yes_. It wasn’t something Craig really liked to think about, but it was absolutely in character for Tyler to do something that petty. Roping Brian into it was a hell of a cruel twist towards Brock, though, one Craig wouldn’t have predicted in a thousand years. Tyler… only really did that sort of thing to Mini, usually, when he was that upset. Like the time Mini had spilled soda in Tyler’s car, so Tyler had gone and bought all of Mini’s favorite soda from all the vending machines at school for a solid week. It wasn’t like him to do that to someone else; with others his revenge was usually swift.

And usually, too, Craig knew _what the fuck he’d done wrong._

Nothing was right. Tyler was going with Brian to prom; their friend group was avoiding the situation like the plague, well aware of the best way to deal with the drama. Tyler wouldn’t talk to him, Brock was asking after the wrong person, and everything in the universe seemed specifically designed at that point to make Mini’s heart ache for unknown reasons.

**From: Mini Ladd** idk, probably

**From: Mini Ladd** im gonna sleep, ttyl

He slipped his glasses off and turned the phone face down, for once unwilling to dwell on the situation for any longer. He didn’t know how to feel, what to think, or what was wrong. He was simply filled with regret and unease, and unable to figure out what to do about it, he turned to sleep and simply avoiding the situation, warily hoping it would all somehow resolve itself.

The three weeks between The Incident and prom had flown by. Tyler’s days had been filled with studying and practice and struggling to find a place that would be able to fit him for a suit in time, which he finally located in the next city over. While he hadn’t talked with Mini about anything, per se, it was clear that his desire to get things back to normal between them was reciprocated. Mini had tried a few times to approach him, both in school and online, and he’d just backed away, saving his energy for the one big push that would be prom.

But he’d forgotten about the dinner. Despite everything- his and Craig’s silence, the pining looks between Brian and Brock so obvious even Scotty had commented on them, and the difficulties that came with getting a dozen teens a table at the best pizza parlor in town- the squad had all managed to join together for a massive dinner before the dance. And everyone except Delirious, Ohm, and Lui had showed up, which meant Tyler was facing a few more unexpected hours in close proximity with Craig.

He’d done his best to escape. He’d stood in line to order all the food by himself, brought it all over, flown at the opportunity to get drinks for friends and at one point outright left the restaurant to go walk around the block and remember what breathing properly felt like. Craig just sent his nerves rattling like nothing else, for no damn good reason other than being himself.

In the end, though, it simply hadn’t been enough, and now he was splashing water on his face in the bathroom to try and get back to normal.

He was in the middle of drying off his face with a paper towel when he heard the door open, footsteps pausing, and he understood why when he lowered the sodden paper. Mini just stared at him for a moment, face carefully blank, and just when Tyler had decided he was going to leave he spoke. 

“You okay?”

Two words, and practically more than he’d said to him in the past week. Tyler shrugged nonchalantly as he crumpled the towel to toss in the trash.

“Still on the silent treatment, I see.” Mini shoved into the room, then, crowded against Tyler in the tiny space by the sinks. “You know, I can’t fucking make it up to you if you don’t tell me what I did to piss you off.”

“I’m not pissed off.” It wasn’t a lie; he was terrified, nervous as hell about what he’d agreed to do later. And he was going to put it off until the last second, until they were walking out into the parking lot if he could, the same way he’d avoided asking Craig to prom until it was too late, because that was the kind of person he was. 

“Really?” Except where he bided his time, Craig leapt forwards, or in this case stalked even closer to Tyler until he was trapped. “Because I’ve spent the past three weeks wondering what the fuck is wrong, with not so much as a hint from our friends because you don’t fucking talk to them either, apparently, and- fuck, man, I’ve been losing sleep over this shit, _I don’t know what I did._ My math teacher actually excused me from homework one day because this fucked me up so much, okay? And now you’re not pissed off, apparently, which is worse because then it’s not that I did something wrong, you just didn’t want to bother with me, is that it?” Craig’s voice rose in tandem with Tyler’s heart, now pounding somewhere uncomfortably high up his trachea. 

Now that he was forced to look, Craig really did look like shit. The suit flattered him, his glasses smudge-free, but they couldn’t completely hide the weary slouch in his shoulders or the dark circles under his eyes. All because Tyler couldn’t make himself fucking talk.

Craig was still going, rambling, voice wet with tears now. “-so if you wanna fucking, I dunno, run off into the sunset with Brock, then that’s fine, but don’t fucking leave me in the dark anymore!”

“Wait, what? Brock?” Tyler had to have misheard. “The fuck are you bringing him up for?”

“That you like him? You’re mad I asked him to prom? That he likes you? I don’t know!” Mini ran a hand through his hair, mussing up the perfect coif he’d sported. “I’m fucking guessing here, man! You won’t tell me shit, no one knows shit-”

“Why the fuck do you think I like Moo?” Incredulity really wasn’t the smartest option here, probably, but Tyler couldn’t keep emotion out of his voice at times like this.

“I dunno, maybe because you flipped your shit on me when I first told you I was taking him to prom,” Mini snapped. His voice was a challenge, his body language ready for a fight. He was glaring up at Tyler, gray eyes fiery instead of the ice they’d been three weeks ago, and this wasn’t how Tyler had imagined their first talk going, hadn’t realized how much he missed him-

He didn’t deal with emotions well. Didn’t know what to do here, with the instinctive anger in his chest and the nerves in his stomach and the heart in his throat beating out a tattoo of _do something, do something, do something_.

So he reached out, saw but ignored Mini’s flinch as he wrapped his hand around Craig’s neck, and said, “You’re a fucking idiot-”

And then pulled him into a kiss.

It wasn’t soft or sweet; surprised was the word Tyler would go for, on his part as well as Mini’s. But he stuck with it, didn’t pull away, and faster than he’d expected (which, to be honest, he hadn’t expected it at all), the mouth underneath his wasn’t just pushing back, but opening up and furthering the kiss, pulling Tyler deeper into what somehow wasn’t the biggest mistake of his life.

He gave himself up to the kiss, venting three weeks of nervousness and frustration into it, not to mention the three years of wrestling with and understanding his crush and emotions before that. He didn’t care that they’d been away from the table an absurdly long time and their friends were probably wondering where they were, or that anyone else could walk into the bathroom and find them making out in the corner. He felt Craig’s hands lock behind his neck, dragging him down, and his arm shifted from Craig’s neck to wrap around his waist in response and pull him even closer. His other hand moved to cup the back of his head, as if to make sure Craig couldn’t pull away from this, because Tyler was selfish, he’d be the first to admit it, and he wanted as much from this kiss as he could get in case it was the last he ever got.

Eventually, Craig managed to shove him back enough to get space between them and breathe. Funny, that had been the thing Tyler was trying to do properly before Craig walked in; it seemed easy now.

They let go of each other, staring uncertainly across a suddenly very wide gulf. Tyler glanced in the mirror; the skin around his mouth was shiny, lips nearly bruised with the force of the kiss. He grabbed another paper towel and wiped his face off again, uncertain once more of what to do with himself as he turned back to Craig, who still stood stock-still by the bathroom stall doors with his eyes locked on Tyler.

Outside the bathroom, a familiar chorus of voices rose in an indistinguishable yell, making them both glance towards the door.

“Tyler?” Craig said, voice uneven. “What did we-”

“Not now,” Tyler interrupted, starting to turn towards the door. He paused to look back, though, noticing finally the almost anguished expression in Craig’s face at the thought of not getting any explanation again. “I promise… we’ll talk later, okay? At the dance. I just… can’t right now.” It wasn’t a lie; he’d been nothing but truthful here. Now that he’d done what he’d done, he wanted to run away again more than ever. 

But he’d made his promise, and even as he shoved out the door and back into the restaurant, he was determined to not fuck it up.  


Despite everything, prom was pretty dang incredible, if Brock had to describe it.

The venue was gorgeous- a place that reminded him of the fancy architecture from Assassin’s Creed, covered in bright flowers and carefully tended ivy. Students milled about in the massive courtyard outside the dance hall, where the heavy-thudding music emanated from, creating a surprisingly nice aesthetic with the colored lights that dangled from the surrounding balconies. Brock was hanging out near the doors, waiting for the rest of his friends to finish trying all the food at the snack bar. He would have joined them, except he was pretty sure he was going to puke if he ate anything more, and he wasn’t sure what was happening.

For the hundredth time in the past two hours, he thought back to dinner, when Mini and Tyler had both disappeared from the table for what only he noticed as an extremely long time. He’d been so distracted by the disappearance of his date that he hadn’t even noticed the smear the pizza sauce left on his cheek.

And he’d been so studiously ignoring Brian, immediately to his left without Craig there, that he hadn’t heard his attempts to alert him to the stain. It had only been when a napkin gently wiped away the worst of it that he startled and turned to look at Brian.

He’d been blushing, brandishing the napkin as an explanation. Marcel and Nogla had started a yell of excitement, the latter yelling something incoherent about ships, and then Mini and Tyler had reappeared from the bathroom breathing heavily and noticeably disheveled, and the moment was lost.

But it had gotten Brock thinking. Mini had been uncharacteristically quiet, not distracting him for once, and so Brock had spent the rest of the evening in his head.

Brian liked him. He knew that; he’d confessed as much. And he still cared about Brock, despite everything, as the pizza sauce and the cafeteria incident proved. He hadn’t reached out, had given Brock space, and while that would spell disaster with anyone who didn’t know Brock as well as Brian did, here it was exactly what Brock needed. And then there was the looks they’d traded so often that Brock got texts from Scotty, Evan, and even Luke about how obvious they were being. Not to mention that Brock had finally gotten his own heart together and knew he liked Brian back, had known for a few weeks now.

Doubts still lingered in his mind; Brian had treated Tyler like his own date, after all, at least back when Brock heard about them coming together. And if he really liked Brock that much, wouldn’t he have tried harder to get him to be his date, or even to keep talking to him? He hadn’t done more than stare at Brock and look away when Brock stared back.

_This is stupid_, Brock thought, staring as his friends finally made their way over to the trash cans to toss out their plates. 

As his friends approached, Brock made up his mind.

“Let’s focking go, boys!” Nogla whooped loudly as he pulled open the doors, herding them all into the dance hall. There were more students here, less light, less space- easy to lose someone. Brock found himself swept up in their own tiny current as the doors swung shut behind him, and before he lost sight of his goal, he reached out and snagged Brian’s sleeve.

“Hey!” He had to shout, loud enough that their friends probably heard too, but he forced himself to only focus on the surprised blue eyes now facing him. “Do- do you wanna dance?” He swallowed. “Alone?”

For an interminable moment, Brian simply stared, arm hanging limp in Brock’s grip. 

Then Brian’s whole face lit up as he grinned, moving back towards Brock as quickly as he could. “Yes!” he shouted back gleefully, bumping into Brock’s chest in his haste. “Yeah- yeah, I’d love to- I’d love that.”

“Okay.” Brock let out a shaky breath, replacing it with a shaky inhale when Brian shifted to grab his hand as they wove through the crowd and away from the doors, mind abuzz with the feeling of triumph. The transition from walking to dancing was almost seamless; they suddenly were moving in place instead of forwards, swaying like the awkward white boys they were. Well, Brock was, at least. Brian had some idea of what dancing was supposed to look like, and Brock did his best to imitate him.

The music was too loud for talking, for which Brock was greatly thankful, but it also had the unfortunate side effect where he had no clue what Brian was thinking as they stared at each other. He tried to not dwell on it, to simply enjoy and move to the music.

And then the music changed to something slow and romantic, and Brock felt his heart leap into his throat.

_This is my chance_, he thought. Brian was right in front of him, eyes open and honest and searching for an answer Brock was wrestling to give. None of their friends were nearby to add unnecessary comments, no one was staring.

“Do you wanna-”

“HAPPY PROM EVERYBODYYYYYYYY!!!” The loud yell through the speakers made Brock and Brian both wince, the former clapping his hands over his ears in annoyance. They turned to look at the stage, where a fancily dressed girl in a bright red dress had her lips smushed against the microphone. “ARE YOU ALL HAVING A GOOD TIME???” She gave the crowd of students only a few seconds to yell their approval before continuing. “WELL, I CERTAINLY AM! AND IF YOU’RE NOT, YOUR NIGHT’S ABOUT TO GET A WHOLE LOT BETTER… BECAUSE IT’S TIME TO ANNOUNCE THE PROM KING AND QUEEN!!!!!!!”

“Not gonna be able to hear her say names if she keeps talking this loud,” Brian grumbled next to Brock.

The romantic music slowly faded away as she continued blowing out the mic. “FIRST UP, IN THE PROM QUEEN CATEGORY, WE HAVE… MAE, BORDIE, MOMO, AAAAAAAND TOBYYYYYYY!!!!!” Small pockets of cheers sprouted across the dance hall at each name, and the four girls named pushed forwards to the front of the crowd, eager to take the stage should they win. 

“And for the kings…” Her voice dropped to a dramatic whisper, and despite knowing he absolutely wasn’t in the running, Brock felt his stomach clench. If last year was anything to go by, the race for Prom King was absolutely brutal, to the point where the system had almost been removed once due to the stress and near-fights it caused. Why exactly the guys had such an issue with not being Prom King, Brock didn’t know; it didn’t change the fact that the title was the stuff of legends.

“First, we have TYLERRRRRR!!!” Brock and Brian both let out a whoop of encouragement for their friend, craning their necks to see the tall boy pushing away from the door and towards the stage. The crowd seemed divided between screaming in support or letting out gossipy snickers; Tyler had a mixed reputation.

Two more students were called up, neither of them at all familiar to Brock. But he recognized the last nominee immediately, as did the boy next to him.

“Me?” Brian said in confusion, turning to Brock for confirmation. “Did- did she just-“

“Yeah- yeah, man, that’s awesome!” Brock wasn’t sure how he felt, whether he was simply proud of his friend or jealous of his crush leaving him when they’d been dancing or what, but he nudged Brian towards the stage with a grin of some kind. “Get up there already, you have a crown to win!” He stepped back to allow Brian to push forwards.

The other boy yelled something over his shoulder as he moved, but Brock couldn’t catch it through the cheering crowd. Music swelled up again as the girl announced one of the unfamiliar boys and Momo as the prom prince and princess, runners-up to…

“CONGRATULATIONS TO BRIAN HANBY AND BORDIE, OUR PROM KING AND QUEEN!”

Brock cheered with the crowd, even as his heart sank. Of course he’d have Brian pulled away from him, have to watch him dance with someone else during the first slow song of the night, have people coming up to them commenting on what a cute couple they made, were they actually together or… With a rare taste of bitterness, Brock turned to move to the edge of the dance floor, leaning against the wall and trying to keep his feet out of the way. Standing around awkwardly, it seemed, was still on the plan.

But no sooner had he gotten settled and worked a fake smile onto his face than he saw Brian again, stumbling out of the crowd with a red face and heavy breaths, to flash that pretty grin at Brock and grab his hand.

“Hey,” he panted, quickly recovering his composure. A stray dancer knocked him closer to Brock, or maybe he’d actually stepped towards him of his own accord. “Still wanna dance?”

Brock didn’t trust himself to speak, just closed his fingers around Brian’s hand and nodded.

He was led back out to the floor, completely taken by surprise. Wasn’t Brian supposed to dance the whole song with Bordie? How quickly had Brian ditched her for him? Why was Nogla screaming across the room at them, jumping up and down with a massive grin on his face as Evan shoved out the door behind him? All the questions faded from his mind, however, when Brian guided him into the proper dancing position, hands resting on hips and the others with their fingers interlocked (when had that happened?) and blue eyes smiling into his, and Brock was suddenly pretty sure he’d forgotten how to breathe.

“Can I ask you somethin’?” Brian murmured quietly, close enough to Brock somehow that he still heard it. He waited for Brock’s nod to continue. “About… well, about me and, um. I wanted to- about us, what’s- what’s happening, I just…” He paused to suck in a deep breath, eyes closing and fingers squeezing around Brock’s palm before finally forcing out, “If I said I still like you- romantically, that is, cos you’re the best focking friend a guy could ask for- what would you-?”

Brock watched as Brian’s eyes opened again, curiously calm considering he’d never been in even a slightly similar situation before. He took a very short moment to appreciate the boy in front of him, scared blue eyes and biting his lip and all. 

And then, still not trusting himself to speak, he squeezed Brian’s hand back as he leaned forwards to give a quick peck to Brian’s cheek.

Brian’s eyes went impossibly wider still, arm going slack in Brock’s hand and jaw dropping, and Brock instantly felt his stomach light up in nervousness. He knew he liked Brian, knew he wanted to date him, but that probably hadn’t been the way to go- who kissed someone as a declaration of mutual feelings? And he’d never crossed that sort of line with anyone, let alone his best friend, the one person he never wanted to lose, even to his feelings. He probably should have just been silent, said nothing…

“Mum’s off work Saturday, so I can pick you up with her car that afternoon and we can go to the beach.” Blue eyes had lit up, an almost fierce and determined excitement. His hand tightened back around Brock’s. “The boardwalk will only just be open, so the lines shouldn’t even be that long-”

“Huh?” Brock’s brain couldn’t catch up, although the feeling in his gut had switched to something better.

“A date.” A grin lit up Brian’s face, shining out into the room and taking up all of Brock’s attention. “I wanna take you on a date to the boardwalk next weekend, if that’s okay with you. I, um, I remember how much you liked going there over summer, so…”

“That… sounds awesome. That sounds wonderful,” said the astounded boy. He didn’t even notice Brian pulling him closer. “I- do you think it’s too cold to swim? Or-”

“We’ll find out on our date,” Brian murmured to him, and suddenly Brock realized how close they were as he was pulled into the first of many kisses that night.

Outside, the air was surprisingly chilly for late April, but Mini welcomed the sharpness of the cold. A bleak world was what he needed right now, on this fucking stupid day where he didn’t have a date again, watching the guy he liked get called up to probably dance with someone else. The instant he’d heard Tyler’s nomination, he’d turned and headed for the courtyard, not wanting to see any more of his friend than was necessary.

Truth be told, he was terrified. Confused, too; by the kiss, by whatever was keeping Tyler from talking to him, by the way Tyler looked whenever he caught sight of Craig. But mostly, terrified of whatever was about to happen next.

He had an idea of what that was, but that scared him even more, even with his own feelings.

“There you fucking are.” Tyler’s voice was higher than usual, a sure sign he was nervous, but he still had a confident posture about him as he walked over to Mini’s side of the courtyard. “You’re a tough bitch to find sometimes.”

Craig just stared at him where he stood, well out of arm’s reach as if he was scared to be closer. “Didn’t you have a dance to do with some girl?”

“Nah,” shrugged Tyler. “Brian won and that Derek prick from theater got prince, so I figured I’d come find you.”

“Oh, now you want to find me? Even when you kissed me, you didn’t want to see me, you just wanted to shut me up so we didn’t _talk_.” The words coming out of his mouth hurt, but it was nothing after the near month of silence Tyler had put him through. Nothing compared to the past few hours of turmoil and confusion after the kiss in the bathroom. “I’m fucking done, Tyler, so either say your piece or leave me alone.”

The grin and pose dropped from Tyler’s body slowly, like he was trying to hold onto his final facade. Then he sighed and crossed his arms, shielding himself from his own words.

“You’re right. I, uh, didn’t want to talk then, or the past few weeks. Which… was really, really stupid. Fuck, I’ve been such an idiot about this whole thing.” Another sigh, and Mini noticed Tyler’s eyes were trained on the ground like he’d die if he looked up. “But, um, you deserve better than that. And you definitely deserve better than me, which is why I didn’t say anything for the longest time, but-“

The words clicked in Craig’s mind, right before Tyler finished.

“-I’ve got a crush on you.”

Craig pushed forwards, his previous anger roaring into a fury now, but burning itself out as he took Tyler’s tie and yanked him down into a kiss. His friend, his best friend, his _boyfriend_ if he had any fucking say in the matter, was an absolute idiot, and Craig was determined to make sure he knew that. And Craig was an idiot too, for thinking Brock had a crush on Tyler when he was so obviously in love with Brian, and for not realizing Brian was just teasing when he was treating Tyler like a legitimate date, and all the idiocy and lack of communication made his anger burn brighter until finally it flickered out and left the two of them gasping for air.

Mini got his breath back first. “You’re picking me up Thursday evening, because I know you don’t have practice then, and you’re taking me to Lark’s for dinner so we can go yell at the geese in the park afterwards.” He was still holding Tyler’s tie, still so close their noses brushed and all he could see was the confusion in Tyler’s face. “And if it’s a really good date, I’ll pay for ice cream after, and won’t spill any in your stupid truck. Sound good?”

“What?”

“I’m planning our first date, since you’re apparently incapable of talking about us.” Craig stepped back, grinning a bit at his friend’s expression. “And since you took _this long_ to finally broach the subject, I’m making you take me somewhere nice.”

“Wait-“ Tyler’s face was an open book of confusion, glee, and shock. “Wait, am I asking you out or are you- wait, you like me _back_?”

He rolled his eyes, grin turning into a smirk. _God_, life suddenly felt amazing. “If the kissing and the date proposal weren’t obvious enough, I don’t know if this is gonna work.”

“You- oh my god, you bitch,” Tyler laughed, and Craig was laughing too. “We’re such fucking idiots, I can’t believe it.” Then his smile was aimed at Craig, and he felt his cheeks warm from the happiness and fondness in it. “Fine. I’ll pick you up at six, and I’ll take you to Lark’s, and if it’s a really good date I’ll even try and catch a goose again, just to make you worried about me.”

“Don’t you dare,” Craig mock-gasped. “I refuse to spend my first date with you dragging you to the hospital for stitches. I fuckin’ hate waiting rooms.”

Tyler stepped forwards, one hand grabbing Mini’s, and started dragging him back towards the music. “True, but you’d wait with me and we both know it. Now come on.” He opened the door, still holding Craig’s hand, and let him step inside first. “It’s been a really dumb month. Come dance with me?”

“Gladly,” Mini replied, and the door swung shut on the silent courtyard behind them.


End file.
